Curried Vegetable Soup

Day Three of APPLE WEEK! WOOT! With 2 sweet recipes behind us, I’m ready for something more substantial.

Today’s dish is a thick and chunky soup with hidden appleiciousness. What do I mean, APPLEICIOUSNESS? Well, like Sam I Am in Green Eggs & Ham, Try it, Try it! You will see! Too many low sodium soups are not just bland, they’re downright boring. As part of APPLE WEEK, I wanted to showcase something spectacular. This soup uses apples as a principal base (5 whole cups!), but offers as much savory interest as sweet. A pretty remarkable feat when you remember it’s got 5 WHOLE CUPS OF APPLES! I started with “Curried Vegetable Bisque” from Simply in Season, one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. But instead of making a dairy-rich bisque, I decided to tweak the recipe. Mostly because my immersion blender bit the dust last year and has yet to be replaced. BUT! The result is one of the most full flavored, chunk-tastic, low sodium soups ever. The apples and raisins add the perfect, subtle smidgen of sweetness, the seasonings do the rest. Frankly, it’s MAGIC. And don’t you dare say EWWW! before trying it – seriously, this soup is amazing. Super big thanks to Kitchen Basics for providing their exceptional unsalted chicken stock.

In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium. Add the cubed apple, onion, bell pepper, carrots and celery, and saute until vegetables are tender, 7-10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, cubed potato, raisins and seasonings, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft, 12-15 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Continue simmering 10 minutes more, then remove from heat and serve immediately.